Why Zach Johnson Is One Tour Player You Can Emulate #golf

Everybody wants to know what Jordan Spieth is doing, but Zach Johnson is the golfer you should really be paying attention to if you’re a 12+ handicap player. He has all of the preferred swing positions that will help you eliminate that weak slice, gain distance and hit the golf ball with authority. 

What are those swing postures? Johnson's exceptionally strong grip is something that’s easy to copy and adding it will immediately help with that open club face that plagues almost all higher handicap players. 

Next, Zack sets up with his shoulders square to his target. Most higher handicap players have their shoulders open or aimed left of target at address, which makes it more likely you’ll swing over the top and slice the ball. 

Lastly, ZJ's left arm (forward arm for lefties like me) is flatter at the top of the golf swing than most tour players. For you, the flatter left arm makes it easier to swing the club more from the inside instead of swinging over the top. 

If you can get your club face more square by adopting a more closed face (strong grip), square up the shoulder at address and swing the path of your club more from the inside on the downswing, you’ll hit the ball farther and straighter and that weak slice will be a thing of the past.  

These changes will also free you up to turn your hips more through impact. Most players stop their hips through impact to give their hands time to try to flip the club square at the last second. That’s big power leak. When you don’t have to worry about your club face being open at impact, you can turn your hips more freely through impact which is a big source of power and consistency. 

The golf instruction video and information in this blog comes to you from Craig Jones of FaceFirstGolf.com, who has recently released a new online training program ... a bootcamp...for 12+ handicap players. Not only has Craig taught 10,000+ lessons and owned five golf learning facilities over the past twelve years, he was once a 15+ handicap player himself and worked his way down to a ONE handicap (super impressive).  Craig breaks down the more difficult concepts into simpler terms AND respects the rules and etiquette that make golf such a great sport. 


photo: Wikipedia

Jordan Spieth Takes Over as the Choice of a New #Golf Generation

Move over Tiger Woods...a replacement is in the wings!

Jordan Spieth and some of the young guns in golf are now being referred to as "Tiger Babies", a term being bandied about by writers and magazines with respect to former number one golfer in the world, Tiger Woods.

We watch as Tiger Woods' children are growing up right before our eyes, swinging clubs like their "old man" and, before we know it, Woods is forty-years-old...old enough to father at least one of the new trailblazers in the sport. Many of these top players have mentioned Woods as the reason that they are in the game and owe him a debt of gratitude and thanks for fattening their wallets.

As Ron Sirak stated, "All looked to Woods as an example, and the result has been a drastically deepened talent pool in golf."

With reference to Jordan Spieth, he shows an ever-growing ability to "become" the next great player...a modest, respectful and very talented golfer whom fans will follow and to whom children might refer to one day as the one who has done so much to improve the millennial base.

"We’re very excited about where we’re at and the start to our career as a team, and what Tiger has done...it’s nice to be in that company." - Jordan Spieth, after winning the 2016 season-opening Hyundai TOC.

Proper etiquette and a youthful appearance at their respective ages, however, are not enough to measure the two golfers and Spieth is loath to be compared to the former world number one golfer.

“I think that’s something that people are looking for but is not there with anybody right now because it’s something I don’t think that can be compared until at least midway through their career," claimed Jordan Spieth on the eve of the 2015 The Open Championship.

Jordan went on to say,“This is an early timetable. When people ask me about those kind of parallels I try and shake it off because it’s not the same. I’m extremely happy with where I’ve been and how we’ve been able to compete and win early and win a couple majors at my age, but at the same time, I certainly have an appreciation for how Tiger could continue and continue and continue to keep winning majors at just an unbelievable percentage of the amount that he played in because it’s not easy. It’s very challenging."

Statistics for each golfer, Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth, at the same times in their golf careers, also show a comparison in their level of ability.

According to CBSSports.com, although Spieth and Woods are the only two golfers since WWII to win seven PGA Tour events before turning twenty-three years of age, Tiger began to roar soon after, winning twenty-nine times and amassing six major titles.

Only time will tell whether Spieth can hold on and make history but Jack Nicklaus commented that it's a good thing that Tiger Woods is no longer in the mix.

"It's a blessing for them to have had Tiger not being at the top because they've had an opportunity to not have to put up with being afraid of somebody dominating the game," Jack Nicklaus said. "They can go play. As a result of that they've been able to go out and win and prove to themselves they are there and can be there."


Do you think Spieth is the Choice of a New Golf Generation? Let us know in the comments section of our golf blog and on Twitter @Golf4Beginners.

photo: Clubhousenews.com, World Golf